CLEMSON – Two weeks ago, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney provided a public challenge to his linebackers in a meeting with media members ahead of fall camp.

“I think people think if Sammy Brown ain’t out there, we’re not going to be very good,” Swinney said. “So, I hope that they’ll show that  okay, you know, whether Sammy’s on the field or he’s not on the field, that we got more than just one player.”

Brown, the junior Swinney mentioned, has never been in question since his arrival on campus. The former high school Butkus Award winner has since been awarded with multiple preseason All-American and All-ACC nods as he enters his third season with the Tigers. As a sophomore, he led the team with 107 tackles in addition to adding five sacks.

However, with veteran starter Wade Woodaz off catching interceptions in NFL Preseason games, Swinney’s challenge specifically encouraged linebackers like Kobe McCloud, Jeremiah Alexander, Logan Anderson and others to step up to assist Brown in leading the middle of the Tigers’ defense.

For graduate Kobe McCloud, answering that call started with improving his leadership skills.

“I’ve always just been a type of guy just to lead by example, but I just wanted to use my voice more this season, being an older guy in the room,” McCloud said. “So, I just want to set the tone obviously with an example, but I want to be vocal, you know, through good times, bad times, you know, I just got to be that older guy and a leader in the room just to pick everybody up.”

According to Swinney, Clemson needed some of that leadership during their final scrimmage of fall camp Thursday, an outing that the leader called “our worst practice of camp.” Despite the struggles that Swinney detailed as situational awareness issues across both sides of the ball, he was clear to say that the performance was not indicative of the linebackers’ success over the last few weeks.

In fact, he believes the group has answered his challenge.

“That’s a group with the arrow up,” Swinney said after the scrimmage. “I think Sammy and Kobe and Jeremiah have really done a great job.” 

However, the up-arrow did not stop with McCloud and Alexander, two older players in the room. Though McCloud’s leadership and overall improvement has been a crucial piece of bolstering the group, Swinney’s public call-out also extended to depth players beyond the Tampa, Fla., native. 

The Tigers’ head coach especially wanted to see players like fifth-year Fletcher Cothran, sophomores Logan Anderson and Drew Woodaz and junior C.J. Kubah-Taylor take “next steps,” of development in fall camp. 

Despite his isolated frustrations with Thursday’s scrimmage, Swinney said that those players have shown off and out since his statements ahead of camp.

“I know y’all don’t know much about Fletcher Cothran, but he’s a kid that’s been in the program,” Swinney said. “He’s just gotten better and better and better and got some size and he’s tough

and I’m proud of him. He’s taken a step forward. Really proud of Kubah and Drew Woodaz and Logan. That’s the group that I kind of thought those first four guys would really kind of affirm that hey, they’re ready to go play. But it was that next group that we needed to see a big jump. And man, they’ve done a great job.”

The Tigers’ head coach went even further, noting that Woodaz, who caught a pick-six in Saturday’s scrimmage, “looks like a linebacker” after a year of development. On the other hand, Swinney labeled Kubah-Taylor a “thumper,” and praised Anderson’s size and athleticism.

Freshman Brayden Reilly, a summer enrollee who mostly played safety in high school, also got a shoutout.

“Brayden Reilly who’s come in here, man, what a great-looking young prospect,” Swinney said. “He don’t know what he’s doing, but you just notice him. I mean, he really doesn’t. I mean, he’s got a lot to learn.

“But he’s got a bright future,” he added. “I love his demeanor. He’s always smiling. And you know, he just he’s got some tools and he’s long, man.”

With classes starting and fall camp coming to a conclusion, the linebackers are getting closer to their first chance to show off their new-look and chips on their shoulder. They will get their first opportunity on Sept. 5, when the Tigers will open their season against LSU in Tiger Stadium.

Swinney has yet to name a starter to play alongside Brown.